I didn't want to write about this documentary, but reading the only other commentary that says it is not a 100% satisfying movie, I'd like to say my word. Yes, there is no fighting. Well quite : a few is shown as still photography : William Klein is one of the greatest photo-reporters of the 20th century, I guess he didn't use his "motion picture camera" during the fights, I guess the reasons are, then, professional : Klein's still pictures made his living, I'm not sure that his films did. Anyways : no fight ? Sure. This was not the point anyways. William Klein was fascinating by the rise of the black-american consciensiousness during the 60s and the 70s. He followed Elridge Cleaver (Black Panthers), Little Richard, and of Course Cassius Clay/Mohamed Ali. This is not quick documentary, Klein takes time to get things. Just picture the southern white "owners" of Cassius Clay explaining the boxer is nothing without their support, and one telling : "my mother's family name was Clay, maybe Cassius Clay's grandparents were owned by mine"... This is great cinema, and when Clay becomes Mohammed Ali and turns his back to his managers, no one is surprised, this is the story of a lot of black americans. It is rare to watch a documentary that really has something to tell. This one does. Don't miss it.
